Max Emanuel Cencic

Max Emanuel Cencic ‒ Biography

“Mr Cencic is blessed with the finest countertenor voice of our day.” That was the view of the German magazine Opernwelt back in 2008, and ever since Cencic has strengthened his iconic status among present-day countertenors, with a combination of beautiful, pure tone and passionate delivery.

Born in 1976 in Zagreb, Cencic first came to public attention aged six singing the Queen of the Night aria from the Magic Flute. He went on to sing with the Vienna Boys Choir, touring widely and launching his solo career in 1992 as a male soprano, followed in 2001 as a countertenor.

In 2003, Cencic’s interpretation of Nerone (in Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea) in Basel was an early milestone in his career, prompting Opernwelt to name him Best New Singer of the Year. Other notable roles have included Perseo in Vivaldi’s long-forgotten serenata Andromeda Liberata (recorded live by Deutsche Grammophon), the title role in Handel’s rarely performed opera Faramondo, and the Herald in the world premiere of Reimann’s Medea at the Vienna State Opera in 2010. During the 2011-12 season Cencic stunned audiences in Paris, Lausanne, Amsterdam and Versailles, creating the title role of Vivaldi’s opera Farnace. The production achieved even wider success through widespread transmission on mezzoTV. In the 2012-13 season came a tour and recording of a newly-rediscovered opera, Leonardo Vinci’s Artaserse, once again attracting rave reviews.

In November 2013 Cencic made his debut at the Frankfurt Opera in a production of Gluck’s Ezio, Il Giornale della Musica calling him “musically impeccable”. The following year saw Hasse’s Siroe in Athens and Versailles, concert performances of Tamerlano in Versailles, Munich, Cologne, Hamburg and Vienna and Alessandro in Moscow, Carmina Burana at the Festival d’Orange and many concerts throughout Europe. In 2015 he is performing Il Catone in Utica in Wiesbaden, Bergen and at the Opéra Royal de Versailles in May and June, then in Bucharest and Vienna in September. There are also further performances of Siroe and appearances in Pergolesi’s Adriano in Siria and Handel’s Tamerlano and Alessandro.

Cencic’s Decca recording of Handel’s Alessandro, released in September 2012, garnered six major awards, including Opera CD of the Year for 2013 from operaawards.com, and won rave reviews, as did his 2014 release Rokoko, a collection of opera arias by Hasse, the first fruit of an agreement between Decca, Cencic and his pioneering music production company Parnassus Arts to create a series of landmark world premiere recordings of Baroque masterpieces. Limelight Magazine referred to the recording of Hasse arias as a “superb recital . . . Cencic’s voice is one of the richest around today with a gleaming top, a fulsome but firm bottom register and his technical facility is spectacular yet always beautifully expressive.”

His November 2014 release of Hasse’s Siroe with Armonia Atenea under George Petrou was chosen as Recording of the Month in BBC Music Magazine, Editor’s Choice in Gramophone and awarded the prestigious Diapason d’or Award, adding to the many honours his extensive CD catalogue has garnered, including eleven prizes for his Faramondo, four for a recital of Handel arias, and Germany’s prestigious Echo Klassik prize for his Duetti album. He sang the role of Valentiniano in a recording of Gluck’s opera Ezio, which also won an Echo Klassik prize, as did Leonardo Vinci’s Artaserse (all Virgin Classics).

In 2015 come no fewer than four releases – The 5 Countertenors in March, Vinci’s Catone in Utica in May, a recording of Neapolitan arias in October and Handel’s Radamisto in November.

His extensive touring diary and recording schedule bear witness to the fact that with his singularly beautiful voice, innately musical approach and ability to truly capture audiences, the future is looking bright for Max Emanuel Cencic.